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University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics

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Jovi Lefotu dribble
71
Winner UC Irvine Irvine 15-3,7-0 Big West
67
Hawaii Hawaii 6-10,4-3 Big West
Winner
UC Irvine Irvine
15-3,7-0 Big West
71
Final
67
Hawaii Hawaii
6-10,4-3 Big West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
UC Irvine Irvine 12 19 13 12 15 71
Hawaii Hawaii 8 13 12 23 11 67

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

UC Irvine Outlast Hawai‘i In Overtime, 71-67

HONOLULU– In a rematch of last year' Big West Tournament title game the University of Hawai'i women's basketball team fell to UC Irvine in overtime, 71-67,  Thursday evening  inside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Wahine overcame a double-digit second half deficit before falling to the Anteaters in the extra period. 

WIth the win the Anteaters (15-3. 7-0) remained undefeated in Big West play and retained their stranglehold of first place in the league.  The Rainbow Wahine (6-10, 4-3) meanwhile sit  in fourth in the league standings with their second loss in the last three games.

Daejah Phillips led UH with 13 points, while adding six rebounds and four assists. Lily Wahinekapu poured in 12 points - including  the two free throws that forced overtime -- and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds. Post players Nnenna Orji  (12) also Kalin Spiller (10) contributed  a combined 22 points. Hunter Hernandez led UCI with a game-high 19 points.  

A turnover-prone UH squad trailed by 10 at half and fell into a 14-point hole, 40-26, in the third quarter. But the Rainbow Wahine came alive in the fourth quarter as a 12-3 run pulled the team with two, 47-45, with four minutes remaining. UH briefly took the lead with two minutes left before finding themselves trailing by two in the waning moments of regulation. McKenna Haire launched a potential game-winning three-pointer from the corner that eventually found its way into the hand of Wahinekapu. The sophomore guard was fouled on the play and calmly drilled a pair of free throws with less than a second left to force overtime. 

Once in overtime, UCI scored the first six points of the extra period and never trailed again. UH continued to battle and trailing by three had a chance to tie the game with less than 30 seconds left. But Meilani McBee's three-pointer fell off the mark and the Anteaters sealed the game on the free throw line. The Rainbow Wahine were ultimately undone by poor shooting as the team missed all but one of its 18 three-point attempts and converted just 16-of-27 free throw attempts. 

UH will continue its homestand on Saturday with UC Riverside at 7 p.m. HT. The 'Bows have taken six straight from Highlanders dating back to 2019. 
 
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